A working Dubai garage needs four printed items before anything else: NCR job cards (from AED 265 for 5 books), service reminder stickers (from AED 0.37 per piece), delivery order and LPO books (from AED 185) and business cards (from AED 89 per 1,000). Total start-up print spend for a two-bay workshop is realistically AED 900–1,400, and it lasts six months to a year. Below is the full kit, the real prices, what to put on each document so it holds up in a dispute, and how the numbering actually works.
Why a garage runs on carbonless paper
Every workshop in the UAE eventually has the same argument: the customer says they never approved the extra work. The only thing that ends that conversation is a signed job card with a carbon copy the customer walked out with. That is what NCR — no carbon required — paper is for: one press of a pen, two or three identical copies, one for the file, one for the customer, one for the workshop floor.
The same applies to parts. An LPO book, a delivery order book and a receipt voucher book turn a cash-and-WhatsApp operation into something an accountant, an auditor or a fleet client can work with. For fleet and corporate accounts in particular — rental companies, delivery fleets, facilities management — the absence of proper documentation is the single most common reason a garage loses the contract at renewal.
NCR job cards and workshop books: real prices
| Book | Specification | Quantity | Price (AED) | Per book |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCR Books A5, 1 colour | A5, 1+1 (2-part), 1 colour 1 side | 5 books | 265 | 53.00 |
| NCR Books A4, 1 colour | A4, 1+1, 1 colour 1 side | 5 books | 294 | 58.80 |
| NCR Books A5, 2 colour | A5, 1+1, 2 colour | 5 books | 300 | 60.00 |
| NCR Books A4, 2 colour | A4, 1+1, 2 colour | 5 books | 380 | 76.00 |
| NCR Books A5, 1 colour | A5, 1+1, 1 colour 1 side | 10 books | 390 | 39.00 |
| NCR Books A4, full colour | A4, 1+1, full colour | 10 books | 500 | 50.00 |
| NCR Books A4, full colour | A4, 1+2 (3-part), full colour | 10 books | 580 | 58.00 |
| Delivery Order Books | Any size, colour and design | — | from 185 | — |
| Invoice Books | Any size, colour and design | — | from 225 | — |
| LPO Books | Any size, colour and design | — | from 235 | — |
| Petty Cash Vouchers | Any size, colour and design | — | from 135 | — |
| Receipt Vouchers | Any size, colour and design | — | from 145 | — |
Prices are VAT inclusive; production is 5 business days after final artwork approval. Full range: NCR book printing in Dubai.
The quantity break is the whole decision
Look at the A5 one-colour line: 5 books cost AED 53 each, 10 books cost AED 39 each — a 26% drop for doubling the order. NCR pricing is dominated by plate setup and collating, not paper. A busy two-bay workshop burns through a 50-set book in roughly two weeks, so ten books is about six months of trading. Ordering five to "test it" costs you more per job card and means reordering before the year is out.
2-part or 3-part?
1+1 (two-part) is right for most independent garages: white original to the file, coloured copy to the customer. 1+2 (three-part) at AED 58 per book is worth the extra AED 8 when you run a separate parts counter or an accounts office — workshop floor keeps one, customer keeps one, accounts keeps one, and nobody has to photocopy anything. Our NCR invoice book guide covers numbering and part-colour conventions in more detail.
What belongs on a garage job card
- Sequential pre-printed number (never handwritten — it is your audit trail and your dispute defence).
- Date in, promised date out, and actual date out.
- Plate number, chassis or VIN, make, model, colour, and odometer reading at intake.
- Customer name, mobile and TRN if it is a company vehicle.
- A fuel gauge diagram and a vehicle outline for marking existing damage — this single element kills more arguments than every other field combined.
- Reported complaint, in the customer's words, and separately the technician's diagnosis.
- Parts and labour lines with space for an estimate and a revised estimate.
- Two signature blocks: authorisation to proceed, and acknowledgement on collection.
- A one-line terms note — storage charges after X days, warranty period on labour.
- Your name, address, phone and TRN, printed on every copy.
Service reminder stickers: the cheapest repeat-business tool in the trade
A windscreen sticker with the next service kilometres and date is the only marketing that sits inside the customer's line of sight for the next six months. At 37 fils a piece, nothing else in a garage's budget comes close.
| Sticker | Specification | Quantity | Price (AED) | Per piece |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stickers, no lamination | 8 × 12 cm | 5,000 pcs | 810 | 0.16 |
| Economy Custom Stickers | 80 gsm, glossy laminated | 1,000 pcs | 370 | 0.37 |
| Transparent PVC Stickers | 5 × 5 cm round, glossy lamination | 1,000 pcs | 410 | 0.41 |
| Rounded Transparent Stickers | 10 cm diameter | 100 pcs | 375 | 3.75 |
| Stickers, no lamination | 23 × 17 cm (large format) | 1,000 pcs | 600 | 0.60 |
| Adestor Custom Stickers | Premium self-adhesive stock | 1,000 pcs | 730 | 0.73 |
Choose transparent PVC for windscreens. Paper stickers turn brittle and yellow behind glass in a Dubai summer; transparent PVC with glossy lamination survives the season and peels off cleanly at the next service. Leave a white write-on panel for the kilometres and date so your service advisor can fill it with a marker. The 23 × 17 cm size is for seat covers, bonnet protectors and parts labelling. Material choice is explained fully in our sticker material guide, and the wider range is in sticker and label printing.
The rest of the kit
| Item | Specification | Quantity | Price (AED) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business Cards | Art paper, no lamination | 1,000 | 89 |
| Business Cards | Glossy lamination | 1,000 | 139 |
| Business Cards | Matt laminated, round corner | 1,000 | 159 |
| Business Cards, express | Brilliant paper, express printing | 500 | 250 |
| Flyers A5 | 170 gsm glossy | 1,000 | 270 |
| Flyers A6 | 170 gsm glossy | 2,000 | 420 |
| Flyers A6 | 170 gsm glossy | 5,000 | 590 |
A6 flyers at 12 fils each are what you leave under wipers in the nearest residential towers and hand out at the tyre shop next door. Keep one offer on them — a fixed-price oil change or a free AC check — and a WhatsApp number, not a website. Full ranges: business cards and flyers.
If you also run recovery trucks or courtesy cars, vehicle branding in Dubai covers the RTA permit requirements before you wrap anything.
A costed starter kit for a two-bay workshop
- 10 NCR job card books, A5, 1 colour — AED 390
- Delivery order books — from AED 185
- LPO books — from AED 235
- 1,000 transparent PVC service stickers — AED 410
- 1,000 business cards, matt round corner — AED 159
Total: around AED 1,379, VAT inclusive, covering roughly six months of a busy two-bay operation. Add 2,000 A6 flyers at AED 420 if you are opening new or chasing walk-in volume.
How to order
- Send your existing job card, even a scan of a handwritten one. Rebuilding from what you already use is faster than starting from a template.
- Confirm the numbering range — tell us the number to start from so it continues your existing sequence instead of restarting at 0001.
- Specify parts: 1+1 or 1+2, and which copy colour goes to whom.
- Approve the proof. Check the plate, VIN and odometer fields on the proof specifically — they are the ones people forget and then need for a year.
- Production is 5 business days from approval, delivered across Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman and the northern Emirates.
FAQ
How much does an NCR job card book cost in Dubai?
From AED 265 for 5 A5 two-part books in one colour (AED 53 each), dropping to AED 39 per book at 10 books. A4 full colour two-part is AED 500 for 10 books, and three-part A4 full colour is AED 580 for 10. All prices include VAT.
Can you continue our existing invoice numbering?
Yes. Give us the last number you issued and the new books start from the next one. Sequential pre-printed numbering is standard on all NCR work — tell us the range when you order, not after the proof.
Which sticker material survives on a windscreen in Dubai?
Transparent PVC with glossy lamination. Plain paper stock degrades behind glass within a summer and tears when removed. PVC at AED 410 per 1,000 (41 fils each) lasts a full service interval and peels cleanly.
What is the difference between a delivery order book and an LPO book?
A delivery order (DO) book documents goods leaving you — the vehicle or parts handed to the customer. An LPO (local purchase order) book documents what you are buying from a supplier. Garages dealing with parts traders need both; many order them together to share one setup.
Do you print in Arabic as well as English?
Yes. Bilingual job cards are standard for workshops handling fleet and government-linked work. Supply the Arabic text as outlined vectors, or send us the wording and it will be typeset for you.
How many sets are in one NCR book?
Book make-up varies with the size and the number of parts — confirm the set count with us when you order so you can work out how long a run will last. As a rule of thumb, a two-bay workshop clears one book every one to two weeks.
Can we get job cards faster than five days?
Express options exist for simple one-colour work and for business cards (500 express cards at AED 250). NCR collating and numbering is mechanical, so the five-day cycle is realistic for a standard run — call before you assume, because it depends on the press schedule that week.
Get your workshop kit quoted
Send a photo of your current job card and tell us your monthly vehicle throughput — we will come back with a full kit price, numbering included. WhatsApp +971 52 210 0909 or call 0522100909.
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